With computer science set to enter the school curriculum this September, Helena
Pozniak examines how getting to grips with the subject is vital for all
students

In an inspired lesson that has become a YouTube favourite, a primary school teacher emphasises the mindset required to programme a computer.

He is acting as the computer, while his pupils, aged nine and 10, are “writing” the code, instructing him with commands that attempt to describe how to make a jam sandwich.

Sound simple? The results are hilarious. His hand digs into the butter, he can’t take the lid off the jam jar one-handed, he picks up the whole loaf or ends up buttering the table. It takes dozens of attempts to get the smallest action right.

This lesson emphasises a fundamental approach that is required from computer scientists. Some people call it computational thinking: a logical, analytical and often creative approach to solving problems, and it’s about a lot more than just coding.

Computer science will enter the school curriculum this September, replacing the old ICT (information and communications technology), to the delight of a huge swathe of industries — from technology, gaming, robotics, music, artificial intelligence, retail, automotive and more — which will be relying on enough specialists to enter the job market in years to come.

While the old ICT curriculum taught pupils to use software, computer science will teach them to create it.

“The best developers start early,” says Jamie Turner, chief technology officer and co-founder of software company Postcode Anywhere; most colleagues in his business began programming at around the age of eight.

“I think that knowledge of computer language is as important as learning a foreign language. Clearly not everyone is going to be a developer but understanding how to write software in its simplest form really helps general problem solving and analytical skills. Software development is incredibly creative and should be taught as such.”

Although many pupils will stop their computer science education when they leave school, they will at least understand the fundamental principles and, crucially, be unafraid to work with technology in the future.

For those who want to take it further, most universities offer a range of computer science degrees, although over the past five years the number of undergraduates choosing the subject has remained relatively unchanged, and is now even slightly lower than it was nine years ago.

Yet computer science falls within a raft of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills, which are forecast to be in short supply among potential employees during the coming years.

The UK needs 100,000 new STEM graduates every year until 2020 just to maintain current employment numbers, according to a report by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Some technology-related companies also run their own apprenticeship schemes.

The latest figures from government careers site Graduate Prospects show that 59 per cent of UK graduates in computer science and IT were in full-time work six months after leaving university or college, compared to 52 per cent of graduates in other subjects. While more than half were working as IT professionals, many used their skills to enter careers in retail, business, human resources and finance.

It is fair to say, however, that some teachers, parents and even university career departments can’t always keep pace with the rate of change in technology-related careers, and some think computer science is only relevant for future coders.

How wrong they are, say many in business. “Today, children interact with tablets and mobile devices before they can even talk,” points out Phil Smith, chief executive for Cisco UK and Ireland.

“In the next five years, the IT industry will provide 500,000 jobs — therefore, computer sciences must be positioned as an opportunity to engineer the future, and not just as a job in engineering.”

His words are echoed by countless enterprises and academics, who forecast that the future will be largely digital.

“I believe computing will have a huge impact on the job market over the next 10-20 years,” says Robert Mullins, senior lecturer in the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, who welcomes the school curriculum change but also bemoans the level of government funding to make it happen.

“We’ll move from a world where computers automate routine tasks to a world where they automate the non-routine, such as legal writing and truck driving.”

Sound scary? It needn’t be, according to Dr Eben Upton, chief executive of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity that developed a cheap single-board computer to promote the teaching of programming skills at school.

“Nobody who is serious about this matter is suggesting that we will all be writing code for a living in 20 years’ time, but equally nobody doubts that the high-value jobs we want for our children will involve a measure of structured problem solving and critical thinking,” says Dr Upton.

So what exactly are these roles that will require employees to get under the skin of technology? As well as programming and developing, computer scientists are required to design and build IT systems, analyse and understand vast amounts of data, and safeguard the security of a company’s IT systems.

They might work for online retailers, such as Amazon, interpreting and predicting buying habits, or they may help plan supermarket layouts or optimise manufacturing processes. They might create and test software embedded on an aeroplane or car, or help to create wearable technology, or fix security flaws within banking systems.

Cloud computing, artificial intelligence and gaming all need developers with related skills. But many peripheral roles also require business acumen, management skills and creativity — besides some knowledge of computer science.

“Hard-core” programming jobs need committed professionals, says Dr Daniel Reid, who holds a computer science-related PhD and is a senior engineer for Critical Software Technologies. “The thought that at any moment a programmer could create the ‘next big thing’ and have a positive impact on the lives of millions of people is pretty exhilarating,” he says.

Getting to grips with key software programming concepts requires dedication; late nights are an occupational hazard of the industry and staying up to date with evolving technology can be a challenge.

Web development, database administration, computer systems analysis, network engineering and software development can all be bracketed under computer science. “But let’s not forget just how much fun the subject can be,” adds Dr Reid.

“While other people are busy writing reports, computer scientists might be writing poker-playing genetic algorithms, creating remote live collaboration technologies for writing music or predicting house prices using neural networks.”

Computer scientists are also well-positioned to become entrepreneurs — and they are the ones behind most new graduate ventures, says Dr Ashwin Rao, a US-based computer scientist with 25 years of industry experience, who now specialises in careers.

He has been talking to students fromUCL,Imperial College London and the University of Cambridgeamong other institutions, about why computer science students are in such high demand. His online service ZLemma uses algorithms to help STEM graduates worldwide identify the full range of companies and positions most suited to their skills and experience.

“As a computer scientist, you don’t need much money to get going — you can literally be a couple of friends in a basement,” he says. And recent start-ups and small technology companies are an excellent place for masters or PhD students to cut their teeth. With their up-to-date knowledge, they may well end up driving a specialist area.

A frequent worry among computer scientists is that their subject is too niche, but, as with any STEM degree, the transferable skills gained are highly prized by nonspecialist employers.

Any graduates who want to work in a core area of a STEM discipline — be it engineering, computer science or physics — will need a specialist degree, but there is crossover between related careers.

Dr Rao predicts that more courses will combine elements of other disciplines and that computer science will feature more prominently across university curricula.

“Computer science is set to become even more popular, and you might see departments offering joint degrees,” he says. “Obviously, a core job such as engineering will require an engineering degree, but the most attractive job applicants will be those who are versatile and who have a decent dose of computer science in their DNA.”